Story of The Twin Cities Apartment Labyrinth

Here at CMM, we move a lot. We move couches and chairs and desks, but we also move novelty Aquaman aquariums. We move original Dali charcoal sketches. We move leather exercise couches and custom elliptical machines.

There isn’t a lot, in fact, that we don’t move. If it’s in the Twin Cities and it weighs less than two tons, we’ve probably moved it. That being said, tell your movers in advance what they’ll be moving! It’ll make the whole experience much smoother.

The best part of moving a lot are probably the stories. Most of the time it’s business as usual, but sometimes you get these unique situations. Some interesting, some just plain weird. Some are bone-chilling. We thought it might be nice for those of you facing moves to get a little taste of some of the things we’ve dealt with in the past. Maybe it’ll help reassure you about your own upcoming move. All the names and any pertinent personal details have been changed. This is the story of the Twin Cities Apartment Labyrinth.

The basic layout of your modern apartment complex.

The star of this particular story is a quarter-ton credenza. Hardwood, marble top, glass sides: the works. If you’re unfamiliar with the inner workings of the furniture world, a credenza is a long, low table. Kind of like an oversized coffee table, or particularly stocky buffet. Anyway, CMM had been hired to move this credenza from Apartment 101 to Apartment 401 in a new development. Simple enough, right?

If you’ve moved into a new apartment complex recently, you’ll know that they can be pretty huge, riddled through with a warren of hallways that all look the exact same. And despite how large and sprawling modern developments are, hallways are still curiously narrow. As if for some reason the architects weren’t planning on moving massive pieces of furniture when they drafted their plans.

Anyway, the movers arrived, noticed the narrow hallways, and rolled up their sleeves. Was the customer sure it would fit in the new space? Of course. If the credenza had gotten into one apartment, it ought to be able to get into another, right? Except that the apartments weren’t identical. The new apartment had two 90 degree turns at the entrance, and even after negotiating all of the narrow hallways, it wouldn’t fit.

In the meantime, the customers asked if the movers could bring it down two floors to the parking garage. A good plan. After all, you can’t exactly keep a massive credenza in the hallway. After muscling it down to the parking garage (it had to go outside and in through the ramp entrance because it was so big), the movers set the credenza down, took a drink, and wiped the sweat off their brows. All done! Whew. Except that by this time the customer’s mother had expressed an interest in the credenza. She was pretty sure it would fit in her apartment, on the 2nd floor. This time, the movers took a tape measure and helped check, just to be sure. It did, in fact look like it would just barely fit, and 25 sweaty minutes later, that was that.

Job complete. Now, this is something of a cautionary tale. Nothing bad happened, but a lot of time could have been saved for the owner of the credenza, if only they’d measured to make sure there would be space in the new apartment. Measure twice, cut once! If you plan your move carefully, you can save yourself time and money.

If you’re living in or around the Twin Cities and you have any questions about that sort of thing, give College Muscle Movers a call! We’re here to help.

Moving large pieces of furniture can quickly turn into a big job. We’d know— those jobs are our specialty! But when you relocate to a new home, furniture isn’t the only thing you need to move. If you have pets, you might have kennels or cages that need to be transported. If you have fish, you’ll almost certainly have a fish tank. If you have a fish tank, you’ll probably want some professional movers.

Fish tanks come in a variety of sizes. Due to all of the glass, even the small tanks are fairly heavy, but the larger aquariums definitely require a small team of people to move. Fragile and heavy, moving giant glass tanks without proper experience can be both exhausting and potentially risky. If you live in the Minneapolis area, consider giving College Muscle Movers a call. We can help you figure out the logistics of your tank.

Now, onto some tips on moving aquariums and fish tanks. When you move a fish tank, you are changing not just the home of your pet, but your own home as well. A large tank takes up space, and you’ll want to carefully plan out where everything is going before you get started. Make sure there is room to fit your tank in your new home. Careful planning will help ensure a smooth move and minimize stress to your aquatic pet.

Fish tanks are heavy. You will require a team to move a large tank, and you’ll want to make sure you have the right equipment as well. Back-braces, suction cup lifters, pads, moving straps: the equipment you will need depends on the weight of the tank itself. In any case, move the tank methodically and carefully, and make sure you have enough people for the job.

Drain the water out before you get started. While this may seem obvious, you really want to make sure you’ve drained as much water as possible. A big fish tank might look mostly empty, but that high volume can be deceptive, and water is heavy. Don’t make the job harder than it has to be!

Also, as you can imagine, you won’t be moving your fish in the tank. Before you drain their home, make sure you’ve set aside a safe temporary environment for your pets. Make their water is treated properly and that they have plenty of space. If you keep plants in your tank, putting a few plants in their temporary home will help reduce the shock from transporting them.

Remember that even with careful planning and professional help, some issues could arise. You’ll want to make sure your fish can live in their temporary environment for a couple days, just in case, especially if you have a long distance move.
Professional movers will have the experience and equipment to safely move your equipment, but chances are low that they are experienced aquaculturists. You should expect to handle the well-being of your fish on your own. In Minnesota, be mindful of weather and temperature changes, especially in the winter!

As always, if you’re in the Minneapolis area, give College Muscle Movers a call at 1-800-818-8449 and we’ll help you figure out your move!

Here at College Muscle Movers, we strive to provide the best possible service. We want to make sure the people moving your possessions are strong, smart, and dedicated. That’s why we employ college athletes and recent graduates from around the Twin Cities— they know the value of hard work, and they have the skills to work efficiently.

We figured a quick interview session with some of them might help you get to know us a little better, so we’ll be running a series of these interviews. This time, we talked with Senior Muscle Mover Brandon Vongkeo.

How long have you been working here?

I think I started just over a year ago. February 14, 2014.

How did you decide on College Muscle Movers? Did you have previous moving experience?

I knew a lot of the guys here already. Cammie G, T-Jack, Tripp, Kirk: a whole bunch of people.

Intense. Ok, so you’ve been here a year, you know a bunch of the guys here: what’s something that’s really changed since you started?

There were lots of new faces over the last year, especially as we switch semesters. Overall, things just seem a bit more organized. It seems like we’re making steps in the right direction that way.

Speaking of job stuff, what’s something that changes on the job itself? Responsibilities vary from the new Freshman movers to seasoned Senior veterans. How has it changed for you?

Hm. That’s a good question. Getting bumped up to Senior does mean more responsibility, but the job isn’t really that different.

Right. Similar tasks, but you’re in charge of the details— how to get things done is up to you.

Yeah. I think one of the biggest things is realizing just how much you’ve learned. You get put with newer guys, so you can help coach them in the job. It isn’t until you start trying to carry couches around corners that you realize they haven’t been moving every day for the last year. It’s so easy to forget that everyone starts somewhere. Not only that, working with new people makes you realize that sometimes there are little things you forget. The extra responsibility holds you more accountable, makes you more conscious of what you’re doing.

Speaking of coaching, you’re a football player, right?

Yep. Left guard.

Do you think there’s any good crossover between football and moving?

Totally. First of all, it helps with mental discipline. From football and weight training, you know that even if the job gets tough, it’ll end at some point. You just need to keep pushing through to the finish. Also, they both take strength and endurance. Doing both helps maintain that.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve had to move?

The credenza. We had to move this huge credenza through a series of really narrow apartment hallways. It was probably 500 pounds, and really long. We put it on dollies at first, trying to roll it, but it just wouldn’t fit around any of the tight corners so we had to keep lifting it up and twisting it around to get it through. Then, finally, it won’t go through the final door into the apartment itself. Just no way to fit it in. So we brought it down to the parking garage, going back through all those narrow hallways. Then the customer’s mother said she would be interested in it, if it fit in her apartment. She lived up on the second floor. So we brought it back up. It was a long process.

Wow. Life of a mover. Well, I hope you don’t get too many more credenzas like that in the future. Thanks for the interview, Brandon! Good luck with school and football and future moving!

Planning a move in the Twin Cities? It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the huge array of Twin Cities movers. There are a lot of options throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area when it comes to moving. There are a variety of companies to choose from, which is fantastic. It’s good for people who need to move, because they have a lot of choices. At College Muscle Movers, that’s just how we like it. We relish the opportunity to set ourselves apart from the pack. Participating in a competitive market is also good for movers, because there’s always pressure to keep raising the bar.

Here at College Muscle Movers, we pride ourselves on lifting that bar higher and higher. We’re always trying to improve. We invest heavily in high-potential students in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, training and equipping them for even brighter futures. And we hope that our commitment to quality is infectious. The freedom to choose can bring with it peace of mind, but on occasion it can become overwhelming. With all these choices, how do you know who to choose? Well, we can’t speak for any other companies, but we can certainly tell you a little bit about ourselves.

Our Muscle Movers receive extensive training before they even go out on their first job, and we offer regular training for the duration of employment. That way, we can provide the highest possible level of care for you and your possessions. Above and beyond that training, our Muscle Mover teams are all supervised by on-site managers who have experience with hundreds of moves. That’s experience you can only get as a professional. If you want something moved, they’ll know how to make it happen, even if it seems totally bizarre.

One of the biggest factors that sets College Muscle Movers apart from other companies in the Twin Cities metro area is our commitment to people. That applies to customers and employees. Beyond ensuring that your move goes as smoothly and safely as possible, we want to make sure our student-athlete movers are picking up the skills they need to succeed in today’s fast-paced world. We want to make sure that their time with us is full of personal growth; that we offer a variety of skills and life experiences which will always be valuable. We provide in-depth training and feedback on customer service, professional communication, teamwork, and confidence building. By helping to round out the life skills of everyone at our company, we raise our standards for quality that much higher, and at the same time, hopefully do something beneficial for the community at large. Many of our former employees have gone on to successful positions in a wide variety of different fields (some within our own company!).

But enough about us! Our reviews speak for themselves. And if you’ve ever used us or other Twin Cities movers, get in touch! What did you like? What would you have preferred differently? Help us keep raising the bar by providing us with feedback.